Pure Elements Book 1: Hyphageon
by Concetta Capulet
Summary: It is 2022 (Ch. 1 says 2012 but it's a typo) and the W.I.T.C.H. have all settled down in Heatherfield, released from their duties. All is well until the Oracle Yan Lin is visited by a stranger. There are more worlds in the universe than she'd ever imagined and the dilemma calls for forces stronger than any Guardians have ever been. Rated T for future chapters (romance and language)
1. Chapter 1: A Call for Knights

It is now 2012 and the last Guardians of Kandrakar have long since stepped down from their duties to settle down in different parts of Heatherfield. Yan Lin remains in her position as the Oracle, the kindest of them. She is well loved by the Elders of the Council. With most of the wars of the worlds gone, she spends her days in her chamber, using a crystal glass to see the lives of the five women, now in their early thirties, who once held the world's fate in their hands. Irma Lair, the former water guardian, is now married to Stephen Smith and she works as a science teacher at an elementary school. Her love for educating young children prepared her to be a fun-loving mother for her three year old son, Isaac. Taranee Cook, the guardian who wielded fire, enjoys teaching as well. She took over at the Jensen Dance Academy and runs the place with her former fellow-students, Sheila Jensen and a man named Luke. They have been in a relationship for over a decade. Cornelia Hale, earth's headstrong guardian, eventually married Taranee's brother Peter L. Cook after graduating from law school, following in her mother's footsteps. They have two little girls, named Terry (6) and Caylen (2). After many years of studying abroad, Eric Lyndon returned to Heatherfield in search of his first love, the guardian of Air. The astronomer found the now fashion designer visiting her parents in The Silver Dragon restaurant where they had their second meeting. They have been married for three years now and are expecting their first child. As for the former keeper of the Heart of Kandrakar and guardian of quintessence, Will Vandom is a journalist, while writing a few novels on the side. She and Matt Olsen parted ways after many years of an on and off relationship.

They had not been the Guardians of Kandrakar for eleven years. Yan Lin was at peace for eleven years. All was well between worlds for eleven years...until the mid-summer of 2012. After overlooking the Lyndons' home, she tucked her crystal ball into a drawer and sought to sit with Tibor, for old time's sake. Before she could make it to the door to leave her chamber, a burst of light ripped into being. Its glow was much like the portals that used to exist many years ago when the old Guardians were anointed. This one had a peculiar sea-green glow and Yan Lin was thrown off her feet at the sight of it. Was this an ambush by an old enemy? Surely the gates of Kandrakar kept the old souls of Nerissa, Phobos, Cedric, and many others at bay. Yan Lin shook her long, white hair from her face, stood back up firmly, and demanded, "WHO ARE YOU?" She was ready to blast this newcomer.

Instead of a force of evil, a young man of eighteen years of age appeared from the portal. As soon as he closed it, her old, wise eyes were able to make out his features. He appeared in regal clothing, with a crown on his head, bejeweled with teal stones. His eyes were a deep sea-green, much like the portal itself but closer to the teal stones on his head and his hair hung to his shoulders in golden locks. A pair of wings protruded from his back. They were scaly, not unlike the scales of sea serpents, and almost reptillian-like. The scales emit glows of green and blue. The arms that were ready to destroy the boy almost lowered at his angelic appearance. Nevertheless, Yan Lin remained firm.

"Who are you?" she said.

"Please, I mean no harm, your greatness. I have come to you for help."

"From where?" she almost bellowed.

"From a kingdom from the world of Hyphageon, my Oracle."

She frowned and lowered her arms. "There is no such world."

"Indeed there is, and it is in grave danger, for it is being filled with darkness. There is a tyrant, your greatness."

"And why have I not heard of this before?"

The boy bowed on one knee and continued to speak. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Prince Ethelhem, from the Hydran Kingdom. Eons ago, your world, Kandrakar, knew of all the lands in the entire universe. There are nearly a hundred of them. When the birth of the universe began, the worlds and dimensions were once at war with each other. They had fought long and hard until most of them lived in perfect harmonies. Utopias, as Earthlings would call them. In such perfect harmonies that their rulers ultimately decided to keep their worlds barred from one another. Earth was where Evyl had appeared yet again. It journeyed to other worlds like Meridian, which started to falter in King Phobos' tyrannous power. Evyl is a disease that is slowly on its way to consume the universe, my Oracle. But I am speaking only words, great one. Let me show you what I know."

He stood up and looked into the oracle's eyes, his teal eyes glowing bright until his pupil disappeared. In a matter of minutes, Yan Lin was in a state of shock at the memories that he had just mentally transmitted to her. After he released his mental bond with her, his eyes went back to their normal sea-green.

"You must anoint new Knights of the Universe, my Oracle. The time for Guardians is over. The time for the war of the worlds has already begun."

Yan Lin shuddered. "But where? With what you have shown me, where will we find such beings powerful enough to end all of the ties of the universe?"

Prince Ethelhem smiled. "I have volunteered myself as a Knight of Water. I am very powerful, more powerful than Cassidy Chacon and Irma Lair ever were. The Knight of Fire is a princess from another world, Natius. Her name is Izobi. She and I are on a hunting party for a Natian outlawed pixie who possesses the most powerful form of quintessence. As for the Knights of earth and air, I leave that up to you."

"What do you mean?"

"Consult your Aurameres. Extract the purest of those elements and anoint the two Knights on Earth. Kandrakar has enough power for creating only two universal warriors, not five, which is why many Guardians have failed in the past. You have also anointed them too young."

"Hmph," Yan Lin scoffed. The young prince ignored this.

"We must team up."

She nodded.

Forming a new pact with Oracle, Prince Ethelhem bowed yet again and disappeared in a sea-green flash.

* * *

Emmeline de Lys had just moved to Heatherfield. She was seventeen and well on her way to begin her junior year of high school. She was going to miss everybody back in San Francisco. Her mildly autistic brother Eliot, however, would benefit. No one would know his past at his new school. But then again, she never quite fell at home in San Francisco. Perhaps destiny had something else in store for her in the stead of that busy city.

"Emmy, hurry up!" her mother yelled.

"Doing my hair!" she quickly replied. And doing her hair, she was. It was a jet black and layered mess that always flowed long enough just to cover her breasts. No matter what she did with it, it never stayed in place.

"EMMELINE!"

"Okay, okay!" _Oh, fuck this_, she thought. She combed through her black mop one more time and rapidly tied it into a low ponytail for the sake of time. Other than that, she looked ready in her long olive skirt and white tee with a sketch of the sun on it. She grabbed her glasses and looked into the mirror one last time. She always felt that her breasts were too small, she was too skinny, her hair laid on her shoulders like a dead rodent, and many other flaws, but the one thing that she loved about her appearance was her bright green eyes, especially when they were framed by her thick black glasses.

Teresa de Lys burst into the bathroom door and sighed. "I packed your breakfast for you on the go. I figured since you're walking to school, you might as well spend that time eating your ravioli."

"Thanks, mum! And sorry. My hair just sucks this morning."

"You say that every morning."

"Well, it's true! I inherited Dad's stubborn locks, mother," Emmeline said, rolling her eyes.

"And you might as well have inherited his truant ass!" her mother quipped. Mrs. de Lys opened the front door of their new house as Emmeline tossed her backpack on. "Off you go, pumpkin! And good luck."

With a kiss on the cheek, she sent her daughter off to her penultimate year of highschool.

Emmeline's first class was PE, which was definitely not a thrill after walking to school. It was the first day and the coach had not sold them their uniforms but explained the rules of the year and made them play basketball until the period ended. Afterwards, she went to English class, her favourite subject. The teacher was a young and energetic blonde who warmed up to every student immediately. Afterwards, Emmeline spent brunch munching on fruit snacks alone in a bathroom stall. She didn't feel quite ready to make new friends yet. The first day was a complete bore already, full of rules and syllabuses. American History and Pre-calculus passed by even faster the previous classes. When the lunch bell rang, she ran out with the other students and made her way around the school. Eventually, she stopped by the music room with a sign that read, "Welcome! Open for lunch everyday". No teacher was in there, but there were about three pianos and several guitars. She quietly sat down by one of the pianos and began to play a Christina Aguilera song to sing to.

If it there was one thing to like about Sheffield Institute already, it was the fact that the room would be open every day of the week. _Perhaps I'll just settle here while I'm still a loner_, she thought. It was such bliss to be able to soak into the music again. Her keyboard was still in boxes at home. She closed her eyes as she drifted away into the notes.

Someone leaned against the piano. She looked up and stopped playing. It was a junior boy from her PE class and he was accompanied by a girl she'd never seen before. He appeared to be dark skinned with dark brown hair that was styled into a faux hawk. He grinned brightly, acknowledging her, with his dark blue eyes beaming. The girl next to him was very fair-skinned and slightly freckled under her hazel eyes. She tied her hair into a high ponytail and her hair dangled behind her back in fiery ginger waves. She, too, was warmly smiling at Emmeline.

"You were amazing. I don't think I've ever seen talent like that at Sheffield. Ever!"

"Thanks," she said shyly.

"I'm Felix Aragon. Genevra and I usually hang out here at lunch every year with our friends."

"You're new, aren't you?" asked the ginger. "We've never seen you before."

"Yeah, I just moved here. I came from San Francisco."

"That's cool! You should come and have lunch with us. One of these days, you and Felix should also jam. He plays guitar and sings as well," said Genevra.

Emmeline smiled warmly right back. "Really? That would be great. I didn't really have much jam buddies back in SF."

Felix chuckled nervously. "I'm not too good. But with a voice like that, I'm surprised you haven't gotten a record deal!"

"I just sing in the shower, really. I've never really performed or anything."

Emmeline didn't know what it was, but she felt as if she were finally home. As if destiny had led her through life to this point. Eventually, she followed her new friends to the other side of the music room and they joined their other friends on the choir chairs. There were two other boys and another girl in the hangout group. Matthew Kingsley formally introduced himself to her first. He was a brunette bespectacled boy whose nose went back to his book after he spoke. He didn't seem too friendly, but Emmeline thought perhaps that the book was just simply that captivating. There was another ginger, a boy, who was revealed to be Genevra's twin brother, Eugene Dale. He had wavy locks like his sister, although, but he had lighter grayish eyes and his red hair was slightly darker. The other girl was named Helen Skoro. She looked very exotic, with almond shaped eyes, black hair, and fair skin. Emmeline later found out that she was half-Japanese, half-Irish and that they shared the last class together, chemistry.

But most of the lunch time was spent with the others interrogating the newcomer. She didn't mind at all, and smiled. _Friends on the first day, what could go wrong?_

* * *

"Unhand me, you pompous brat!" The pixie's violet eyes flashed in anger. One of Prince Ethelhem's guards tugged on her long, flaming red hair and another tore off a piece of her lilac frock. In a split-second, the captive maiden's eyes glowed and the men holding her down were blasted away from her by beams of magenta energy. She wasted no time, and took off in the air with her transparent wings, only inches from the ceiling. She was ready to attack the prince and get the hell of his wretched palace.

But the prince himself wasn't too ignorant. He smiled, shaking his head, and created a force field before flying to meet the pixie face-to-face. "Lock the doors," he ordered his other attendants.

"Valysse, you and I need to have a little chat," he said calmly.

"If it's gold you're after-!"

"I have no interest in your little 'Robin Hood' endeavours back in Lectran. Please, sit. You're not under arrest."


	2. Chapter 2: The Vision

The music room at Sheffield Institute was often filled with talented young musicians every week, ever since the old and new students saw the sign at the door. Mr. Aarons never was in the room at lunch, but he always kept it open for the children. Six of them were always sitting on the choir chairs in one corner, eating their lunch and occasionally jamming a few songs. They were all very good friends and would wait for rides together after school in the front. Emmeline walked home but she wouldn't pass an opportunity to spend a little bit more time with friends. It was the third week of school and Helen had already gone home. Eugene had football practice and Matthew was at an SAT prep class. Felix, Genevra, and their new friend sat on the grass, listening to the sound of Felix' six-string. Yards away from the trio was another trio, sitting in a minivan. It was Prince Ethelhem, a pixie, and Princess Izobi. Their wings were out of sight, and for the first time, they wore clothing enough to fit in with the teenagers of Sheffield Institute.

_I hated learning how to drive this thing_, thought the prince, _if only we could fly in this world._

The fiery princess scoffed. _You _know_ we could have just turned invisible and teleported, right?_

"Aagh! Get out of my head, Izobi!"

She sunk back into the passenger seat next to him, arms folded and smirking. Valysse the pixie rolled her eyes and turned around to look at the three friends jamming on the grassy front.

"Shall we go and tell them now?"

"No," said the prince, "We wait."

"Why can't we just do it now?" asked Izobi.

"What, do you think you can just grab Earthlings and tell them, 'Hey, you've been granted elemental powers and are sworn to protect the universe from wars with other planets?' No, their worries will become escalated."

"What do they even worry about?"

"I don't know, but I read it in my kingdom's library once. It's called heartbreak."

Valysse cocked her head to the side. "I've never heard of such a thing."

"It's supposed to be the most painful thing they feel."

"Why don't they just wear chest plates to protect themselves?" Izobi mused.

"It's not a physical pain," Ethelhem explained, "it's mental."

"Brainbreak?"

"Shut up, Izzy." The pixie rolled her eyes again.

The fiery princess' soft locks burst into flames, almost torching the ceiling of the van. "You're lucky we can't arrest you now. The Oracle was crazy enough to let you join. One day, she'd even let bandits join her court. That's when we'll know this world is coming to pieces. All because we decided to put our trust into an outlaw," she spat.

Valysse' long red tresses began to spark. "How _dare_ you!"

"Enough!" bellowed the prince. "You two must learn to work as equals." He sighed and continued. "We'll wait a week. It says in 'Earthlings: Mannerisms and Propriety' that it takes humans a week to associate themselves in a good enough acquaintanceship, at the very least. Meanwhile, we have to get ready to attend this school. Yan Lin already made sure we got into the system. Thank goodness she didn't register Valysse into the same school or else you two would have torched the entire grounds."

The pixie frowned. "Why will I be going to a different school?"

"Here on Earth, you are twenty years old, the age of a student in college. Izobi and I are still eighteen. Izobi, hand me those papers." Upon receiving them, he gave a few back to Izobi and handed some to Valysse. "These are our identification papers with our new Earth names and background information. We must try to fit in as much as possible. Know your place on this earth, Izabel Pierson and Valerie Leferve."

* * *

"What are those three people doing standing there?" Emmeline noticed a beautiful blonde boy, a redhead girl with petite porcelain features, and a dark skinned brunette with blonde streaks in her hair all stepping out of a mini van. "They look lost."

Genevra squinted her eyes. "They're probably new. I've never seen them here before, being here since the seventh grade."

"They all look like upperclassmen," Felix noted. His head jerked quickly to the other side after hearing a car honk. "Oh, shit. It's my mum," he said glumly. He hastily packed up his guitar and darted off. "See you guys tomorrow."

Emmeline was puzzled. She turned to Genevra and said, "Felix doesn't like going home, does he?"

"His family neglects him most of the time. They don't seem to care much. He feels like he can't tell them anything. They don't know that he's gay and he's afraid they would support him less as a son if they knew. That's also why he's going to the Marines after Sheffield. He can't go straight to college, his parents wouldn't pay for it, he thinks." Genevra half-smiled. "The music room has always been his home. It's a home, for all of us."

"That's sad, though, being unable to be supported by his parents. How's home life with _you_?"

"My brother and I have our differences, but we have always been side by side," she smiled. "Our adoptive parents love us both equally and that's all we can ask for."

Emmeline's green eyes widened. "You're-you're an orphan?"

"Yeah," Genevra replied. "Our mother was single and died at birth. We never heard of any father at all. The Dales adopted us when we were three."

"That's nice. The Dales, that is." Emmeline was never good at showing sympathy.

"Indeed," she nodded. A silver Honda Accord pulled up to the front just where the two girls were sitting on the ground. "That's my ride, I'll see you tomorrow, Emmeline!" She flashed her friend one more grin and immediately kissed a dark-haired woman as soon as she hopped into the car. After a few minutes. she rolled down the window and yelled, "Hey, Emmeline! My mum wants to know if you want a ride home!"

Both of the Dale women grinned warmly at her. She smiled back and said, "It's okay, thanks. I always walk home."

"You sure?" asked Mrs. Dale.

"I'm sure! Have a nice day!"

"Alright, sweetheart!"

Emmeline headed off to leave the school as the Honda drove away.

* * *

"Good afternoon, class! Ms. Kamah is not here today and I am your sub Mr. Reynolds. But I'm the _cool_ kind of sub," the burly man winked. "All you guys gotta do is watch this video about matter until the end of class and tell her what you learned from it."

There were several groans from the nerds in the class but everyone else seemed pleasantly cheery.

"And I will _not_ tolerate any side conversations," he added with a mock-stern smile. The class laughed.

Suddenly, the door opened and a blonde boy stepped in the room. He wore a light blue unbuttoned button up over a white tee and jeans. The shirts were short-sleeved, revealing two muscular arms.

Emmeline nudged Helen with her elbow and whispered, "I saw him at the parking lot yesterday, he was acting rather strange with his friends."

Helen shrugged slowly. Her dark brown eyes were hooked onto the newcomer. "He seems dreamy, though."

"Is this Chemistry with Professor Kamah?"

Mr. Reynolds chuckled. "This isn't a university, kid! But yes, I'm currently subbing for her."

"Subbing?" The boy raised his eyebrows.

The substitute teacher looked slightly bewildered. "Substitute teacher. You must have come from a private school. Your name, kid?"

"Ethan Von Nautten, sir." As he said it, his sea-green eyes found the bright green eyes of Emmeline's. She immediately looked away.

"You may sit yourself down anywhere, Mr. Von Nautten, and watch the video with your classmates."

Ethan made his way to Emmeline's table and sat across from her. Helen immediately flashed him a smile and said, "Welcome to Sheffield, Ethan!"

"Thank you," he flashed his pearly whites right back. "And what is your name, milade-uh, girl?"

This made Helen only blush more. "Helen Skoro. This is Emmeline." Emmeline smiled meekly and pretended to be interested in the educational video. She wasn't sure how to talk to the beautiful boy. His beauty made her feel incredibly timid. "We're both juniors, and you?"

"I'm in the 12th grade."

"Aww, you're graduating this year!" Helen continued to trill. Ethan gave her the occasional "mm-hms" and "oh, yes, indeeds", for his eyes were on the bespectacled green-eyed girl with jet black hair.

After forty-five minutes, the bell rang and Emmeline began to pack up rather rapidly and turned to Helen. "I'm going to just walk home today. I just want to rest at home. Feeling slightly ill. You can tell the others that."

"Mm-hm, okay, Felix went home earlier today in statistics. Maybe you caught what he..." Helen trailed off quietly. She had realized that the new student hadn't truly paid attention to a single word that she had said and felt slightly insecure as she had absentmindedly replied to Emmeline.

Emmeline darted for the door and immediately ran into the broad backside of Ethan, who stood a head taller than she.

In that moment of contact, her head started to buzz and she saw the strangest things ever. It was like a vision from the future. She'd heard of such things, but only in books and fantasy stories. The vision flashed in a matter of such few seconds that she was only about to make out five glowing colours-bright green, deep blue, red, magenta, and sea green-and two faces: her own and the blonde boy's. Her forehead began to throb as she took it all in and dropped her belongings.

Ethan pushed his golden locks out of his eyes with his fingers and turned around.

"Are you okay?"

_What the hell did I just see?_ she thought madly, still frozen in shock.

"Emmeline?" She snapped back to reality after a few seconds. Almost everyone was looking at her. Ethan's left arm was on her shoulder, the other holding her belongings.

She quickly seized back her belongings, "I'm okay, thanks," and burst out of the door, embarrassed.

Perhaps maybe she did catch what Felix got, but how could she ever come up with an explanation for those visions? Maybe all she needed was a drink. Just water. There was a fountain in the nurse's office. Yes, that's where she would go.

"And what can I do for you?" asked the receptionist briskly.

"Just a drink, ma'am."

"The fountain's on your left," she replied dismissively.

Emmeline began to quench herself and heard voices arguing in the next room.

"I don't have a fever, I swear!"

"Your temperature, Miss Pierson, was 120 degrees! You could get everybody in the school sick!"

There was suddenly a moment of silence and the nurse continued in a less indignant manner. In fact, she sounded too incredibly sweet the next second. "Oh, you are in perfect health, Miss Pierson! You may go home. Ta ta!"

Emmeline fixed her posture after bending down to drink and suddenly, she saw Ethan and his dark skinned female friend a few meters away from her.

"What were you thinking?"

"I was saving your ass, our secret could have been discovered and we would be in trouble with Earth! You've already caused enough trouble here. _Please_, just try to blend in."

"I'm doing my best here, goddamnit! I could have scorched their temperature measuring stick, for all you know! And look who's talking, someone could have seen your _eyes_."

Ethan ignored this. "Just remember to keep it 98 degrees next time." He looked away from his friend and noticed Emmeline had been listening. "Emmeline... So nice to see you again," he smiled.

She didn't know how to respond. "Yes" was all she could muster.

"I trust you enjoyed today's lesson about what this planet is made of?"

Izabel scoffed and walked away. "I'll be at Valysse's place."

"Valerie," he corrected.

"Whatever."

"Umm...sure," Emmeline replied, "I never really thought chemistry was interesting, honestly."

"You are new as well? To the school?"

"Yeah," she nodded curtly. "I'm actually on my way to walk home. If you'll excuse me, I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"Of course," he almost bowed and stopped himself. "I'm sure we'll be great friends."

"Uh-huh."

* * *

_What a creep._ It was almost as if he had come from another world. She was almost home and by the time she reached her bed, she fell into it instantly, her half-closed eyes trailing around until they looked at her window. It was bright and sunny outside. So bright. So bright... So...bright... Sss...

* * *

"EMMELINE! Your father just got home! Time for dinner!"

She woke up with a jolt. It was already 6:37. She had slept over three hours! "Ugh," she groaned, remembering that she had to read a few chapters of _The Scarlet Letter_ for english.

Emmeline finally hopped off of her bed, "coming!" Something suddenly felt strange. It was still summer transitioning to fall and didn't get too dark until after eight o'clock. She didn't remember closing her curtains before her nap and turned around to check.

"HOLY F-!" Good thing her hands flew straight to her mouth just in time.

Right outside her window and in the timespan of three hours, loads of massive vines found their way to her window, masking the sunlight out of her room.


	3. Chapter 3: An Allergy Anomaly

"You feeling any better? Helen said you went home early with a headache yesterday." Genevra asked.

Emmeline began to fondle with a few of the drumsticks in Mr. Aarons' music room. "Yeah, I feel pretty great, actually. I had a nightmare after laying on my bed afterschool-"

"-Hey, did you guyd feel dat eartquake yedderday?" Felix had just entered the music room, his nose buried in a hankerchief.

"Yeah!" said Genevra, "We rarely get earthquakes around here. Want some more tissue, Felix?"

Emmeline furrowed her thick brows. "What earthquake?"

"There was one at around four after school," Felix sniffed and frowned and a janitor entered the room with a enormous fan. "Magnitude of three-ish."

"Oh! I was napping at that time."

"Oh, well, it wasn't that bad anyways."

"Speaking of napping, I had the strangest nightmare-"

"ACHOO!"

As soon as Felix' sneeze hit the room, a rapid gust of wind made its way into the room and shook the orchestral chimes. Several students froze in bewilderment as the janitor slammed his hand on the power button, completely bamboozled. Matthew's head perked up from his book.

"What the hell was that?"

Genevra laughed. "I don't know, but I think the school needs to focus their budget on more toilet paper than bigger fans."

The friends continued to eat their lunch and chat until Eugene burst into room with a wild expression on his face.

"That new black girl just got into a fight with someone!"

"Why are you jud standing dere?" Felix sniffed with irritation.

"I-uh, I came here to get Mr. Aarons." Eugene winked at his sister, who shook her head laughing.

"You _know_ Mr. Aarons never comes here during lunch, Eugenie. Why is this fight so interesting, though?" she teased. "That's what high schoolers do. The main source of conflict is either fuck or fight."

Eugene's gray eyes widened. "No, you don't understand! She was totally winning! She pinned Lenny Perez to the ground."

Everyone's eyes but Emmeline's darted to Eugene as he raved about the fight, their mouths gaping open.

"Perez is the douchey team captain of Eugene's football team," Genevra explained to Emmeline.

Basking in the glory of having everyone's attention, Eugene began to tell the entire story of the fight in every detail. Genevra rolled her eyes at her brother and Felix ignored him to turn to Emmeline.

"So you had a nidemare lass nide?"

Emmeline nodded. "It was the most terrifying and vivid thing I'd ever experienced... I didn't remember it until I slept again last night and re-dreamt it. I was standing in this swamp and there were blackish vines surrounding me everywhere. And suddenly I was flying towards a great golden light, followed by colored bulbs of blue, red, purple, and a lighter blue. There were also many figurines that were shaped like humans, I can barely remember their faces. I don't remember anything else that happened in the middle but those parts were pretty vivid. I think it ended when there was this _huge _flash of green."

Felix opened his mouth as if he had just experienced an epiphany but the bell for class rang. The group begins to pack their belongings and leave the building. Emmeline and Helen head to the chemistry building. Outside, gusts of wind blew, making Felix' allergies worse. He sneezed again and again, only to have the wind seemingly fight back. On the other side of the school, the vice principal laid a firm arm on an African-American girl. Emmeline recognized her immediately and caught the deviant's glowering eyes.

"I saw her in the nurse's office yesterday with Ethan."

Helen squealed. "Oh my god! Did you say something? He was totally into you during chemistry. Omigod, what if you two went out, then you'd have _chemistry_ in chemistry!"

Emmeline rolled her eyes. "No... Well, he spoke to me first-"

"-Oh, of course! I'm so jealous!"

She sighed, "No, honestly, he sounds like a creep. Speaks like he was from the eighteenth century or something. There's definitely something weird about him but I can't quite put my finger on it. He and that girl had the strangest conversation with the nurse."

"Bah, who cares? She's hardly any competition for him."

"If you like him so much, why don't _you_ go for him instead? Maybe he likes me know but I'll put in a good word for you. Just sit at a different table today." Emmeline smirked.

A voice came up from behind them as they entered the classroom. "Good afternoon, ladies." Ethan wore a green tee shirt this time and it stretched flatteringly over his pectorals.

_Speak of the devil_, thought Emmeline. "Hey Ethan."

Helen let out a girlish giggle. "Hey, how's it going?"

"Oh, school is fascinating. It's been a strange experience and I've been recently getting into 'hop-hop' music."

The Japanirish's laughter became shriller by the second. "Oh, I think you meant hip-hop! Did you really come from a private school?"

"Erm...I had private tutors back at my pal...I mean, with a 'pal.'" _Oh, dear Oracle, that was a close one._

"Mmm...that's so amazing..." Helen trailed off.

Emmeline rolled her eyes. _Seems like she's doing fine on her own._

"Well, I'm gonna sit closer to the board today, I couldn't see shit yesterday!" She nudged Emmeline before leaving to sit at a different table.

Emmeline and Ethan sat together rigidly three feet away from each other.

_Psst! Hey! Show me the girl!_

Ethan frowned. _I am in class, Iz. And good job, by the way, getting into a fight with that Earthling._

_He tried to whistle at me! Like I was some animal!_

_You do forget you are not a princess in this world, Izabel. He was trying to court you. _Ethan smirked absentmindedly at an oblivious Emmeline.

_I can fare much better than the scum of Earth. But never you mind, show me the girl already! I didn't get to have a good look yesterday. _

_Fine._ He briefly closed his eyes and imagined Emmeline. Her eyes flashed their bright green through her thick frames, with organic black waves.

_Pfft. She doesn't look like the leader type. I sure hope Yan Lin knew what she was doing when she picked her._

_She will receive training from me and you, if you decide to cooperate. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lecture to listen to. _And with that, he closed his mental passage to Izabel.

He smiled at Emmeline before continuing his chemistry notes.


End file.
